Process of treating car-seats.



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rarest @FFICE.

JOHN MACNAULL WILSON, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO FRANKLINMURPHY, 0F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS OF TREATING CAR-SEATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

No Drawing. Application filed December 20. 1913, Serial No. 807,920.Renewed June 15, 1916. Serial No. 103,869.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN MACNAULL lVlLsox, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Montclair, in the State of New Jersey, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in the Processes of T reatingCar-Seats, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a process of treating and renewing the color indyed material, and relates particularly to a process for cleaning andrenewing car seats which are exposed to deposits of soot, grease andvarious substances that adhere to and stain the covering, withoutremoving the seats from the cars.

I-leretofore in order to remove the dirt, grease and other materialadhering to material such as the covering of a car seat and to cause thecolor in the nap to be restored, it has been necessary to subject thecushions to a cleaning process and to a separate re-dyeing process. Suchprocedure was not only expensive in itself, but it required the cars orconveyances containin the seats to be sent to the shop so that all usethereof was lost for the period required in the cleaning and dyeingoperation. 7

One of the main objects of my invention is to provide a process wherebyboth the cleaning and the renewing of car cushions can be accomplishedwithout removing the cushions from the car, or even from the positionsthey occupy when in normal use, and which will not keep the car out ofservice for a period longer than the normal delay between trips.

A further object of my invention is to rovidc a process whereby the dyealready in the cushion may be redistributed over the surface thereofwithout removing the cushion from its place and in such manner that anyreplaced or relocated dye will be caused to set promptly withoutcroclring.

A still further object of the invention consists in cleaning the cushionand preparing the fibers thereof for subsequent treatment in such amanner that the dirt and other foreign substances contained in thecushion may be collected and removed in a sanitary manner.

The various other objects of the invention will be more fully set forthin the following description of the invention which consists inpreparing the material to receive a suitable solution adapted to removecertain substances adhering to the fibers, to release any exccss dyethat may be contained in any portion of the material, causing saidexcess dye to be distributed evenly over the outer portion of thematerial so as to give the same an approximately uniform colorsimultaneously working the nap to cause the excess dye to be properlydistributed and absorbed and then permitting the redistributed dye toset.

The invention also consists in various other novel steps andcombinations of steps hereinafter more fully set forth and described inconnection with the preferred method of employing my improved processand various modifications thereof.

In carrying out my improved process, the car seat or other surfaceprovided with a suitable covering, such as plush, is subjected to acarding action, which causes all projecting fibers to be straightenedand slightly abraded and which causes any of the fibers which adhereeither on account of pressure or the introduction of some foreignsubstance, as oil or grease. to be disentangled from each other. Thedust, grit, fine cinders and other foreign substances which may havelodged in the nap are then removed by any well-known means, preferably,however. by a suitable suction apparatus which will cause the minutefibers or filaments that are integral with the nap to assume an uprightposition.

. After the material has been thoroughly carded, cleaned and the naproughened, the material is subjected to the action of a solutioncapable, not only of removing grease and similar substances, but whichwill also dissolve the excess dye which always accumulates at the bottomof the nap when the material is first dyed. After the dye has becomesutl'iciently liquid to permit reabsorption thereof, the nap ismanipulated so that the ends of the fibers will be bent over and come incontact with the excess partly liquefied dye on the material adjacentthe base of the nap. At the same time, the strands or filaments of whichthe nap is composed are loosened sufficiently to accelerate absorptionand promote a certain amount of capillary action. The extended, almostmicroscopic fibers which have been intervals between trips.

until the appearance of the nap is uniform over the entire surface ofthe material.

As soon as the excess dye has been redis- 'tributed throughout the nap,it is caused to set speedily, so that it will not crock. This may beaccomplished by combining a suitable slow acting agent with the dyereleasing'solution, or it may be applied separately as desired. Finally,the material is thor- 'oughly rubbed with an absorbent material whichwill absorb any excess dye, thus causing the reabsorbed dye to setalmost instanta'neously.

Ihave found in practice that a solution comprising approximately threeper cent. of

sodium triphosphate and one to ten per cent. of alcohol will givedesirable results. More alcohol may be added however, if it is desiredto prevent freezin Preferably a small percentage of cresylic acid orother well-known disinfectant may be added. Preferably alsoapproximately a small per cent. of sodium oleate or some similar salt isadded to the solution. Sodium phosphate can be substituted for thesodium triphosphate without substantially changing the results obtained.

By means of my improved process, the

appearance of articles such as car seats in which an excess of dye atthe base of the nap is invariably found, can be restored to apractically uniform color which differs from a similar article that hasbeen redyed "only by being of a slightly lighter shade.

The entire process can be carried out in a comparatively short perlod oftime so that,

in treating car seats of railway coaches, it is not necessary towithdraw the coach from traffic if advantage be taken of the usual Notonly is the color of a faded or stained seat renewed and practicallyrestored, but the cushion is thoroughly cleaned and can be disinfectedat the same time. The treatment can be applied a number of times on thesame cushion Without supplying fresh dye, since only a portion of theexcess dye at the base of the .nap isreleased at one time and theoriginal excess is usually suflicient to last fora considerable period.

Although I have described the several steps necessary incarryingoutmyprocess,

it will be obvious that various modifications within the knowledge ofthose skilled in the art may be made without departing from theinvention, provided themeans set forth in the following claims beemployed.

I claim as my invention 1. The process of cleaning and renewing dyedmaterials which consists in carding the same to loosen the fibers,comprising thenap and to disengage the filaments eX- tending therefrom,subjecting the material to the action of a solution capable of releasingthe dye at the base of the nap, causing the excess dye "to be absorbedby the extending end portion of the nap, and causing the reabsorbed dyeto set.

2. The process of cleaning and renewing previously dyed material havinga nap which consists in carding the material to loosen the fibers of thenap, causing abrasion thereof so that miscroscopic filaments will extendtherefrom, subjecting the materialto the action of a solution capable ofreleasing a portion of the excess dye-a'ttlre base of the nap,subjecting the nap to "movement in contrary directions to facilitateabof the material until the nap is of an approximately uniform color,then causing the dye to set and simultaneously removing any excesssolution from the material, substantially as described.

4. The process of cleaning and renewing previously dyed material havinga nap which consists in subjecting the nap to an abrading action toloosen the fibers thereof and produce filaments thereon, subjecting thematerial to the action of a cleansing solution containing an agentcapable of releasing a portion of theexcess dye adjacent the warp,moving the nap in contrary-directions so as to bring the free ends ofthe nap into contact with the released dye and facilitate capillarymovement of the released dye in the nap from the base toward the freeends thereof, removing the solution from the nap by causing the solutionto be absorbed th refrom and simultaneously causing the dye to set.

5. The process of cleaning and renewing previously dyed material havinga. nap which consists in carding the nap, subjecting the same to thesuction action .of a partial vacuum, treating the material with :asolution containing a relatively quick acting dye releasing agent and arelatively slow acting mordant, subjecting the nap to pressure appliedalternately in contrary directions to bend the free ends of a portion ofthe nap into contact with the base of the adjacent portion of the nap,removing any excess solution and permitting the released dye to set,substantially as described.

6. The process of cleaning and renewing previously dyed materialcomprising a nap which consists in carding the material, subjeeting thematerial to the action of a solution containing sodium oleate andalcohol to cleanse the nap and release a portion of the dye containedtherein, bending the nap conic: 0! this patent may be obtained for incontrary directions to bring the free ends of each portion thereof incontact with the base of an adjacent portion of the nap, subjecting thematerial to the action of trisodium phosphate to cause the reabsorbeddye to reset, removing any excess of the solution from the material, anddrying the material, substantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed this 17th day of December, A.D., 1913.

J. MACNAULL WILSON.

Signed in the presence oflVILLIAM E. BLEIER, SAMUEL J OACHIM.

five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. G."

